An official from the central apparatus for adjusting the situation of Illegal Residents said 2,056 illegal residents were able to get driving licenses last year thanks to cooperation with the traffic department of the Interior Ministry. Al-Jahra Governorate accounted for the biggest number of such documents with 1,183 followed by Al-Farwaniya - 316, Al-Ahmadi - 248, the Capital City - 227, Hawally - 60 and Mubarak Al-Kabeer - 22 licenses, said Abdullah Al-Farhan, director of the information department of the system, in a statement to KUNA on Saturday.

"The Ministerial Act No. 409 for 2011, regulating the issuance of driving licenses for such segment of people, exempted these people from the requirements applicable for others; they are treated in this regard as Gulf nationals," he explained.

"An illegal resident who holds a valid ID is eligible for a driving license and can enjoy the facilitation offered by the law," Al-Farhan pointed out. He added that the year 2011 saw the issuance of 2,617 licenses for illegal residents, compared with 2,251 in 2012, 2,531 in 2013, 2,328 in 2014 and 2,403 in 2015.